John Bradley (Samwell Tarly) reflects on the Game of Thrones ending

Game of Thrones finally came to an end after eight seasons, and now is the time for actor interviews looking back on the show. The latest is from John Bradley, who played Samwell Tarly on the show, who discussed the ending of Game of Thrones in a recent interview. Read on!

Bradley recently had a sitdown with The Hollywood Reporter. He started off by talking about how it felt to give an interview after the end of the show:

“Ah, it’s such a weird feeling. (Laughs.) It’s so weird to know you can be completely candid about everything without risking the wrath of anybody. Having answers to some of those questions out there is such a liberating experience.”

We saw in the finale that Sam brought a book with him called A Song of Ice and Fire, written by Archmaester Ebrose, with the title suggested by Sam himself. Speaking of this, John said:

“I was really thrilled about how [Benioff and Weiss] handled that. It was a combination of fan service and a slight little twist. A lot of people know George and the Tolkien template he’s used in his series from the start. A lot of people maybe predicted Sam would have devised the narrative of the Song of Ice and Fire book, and it would be a meta-textuality in how the series ends: Sam writing the books, the drama that everyone’s just watched. It would have been an interesting way to end it.”

He continued:

“But because so many people were predicting that, but at the last second there’s a slight diversion from people’s predictions — that it wasn’t Sam, but Archmaester Ebrose (Jim Broadbent) who wrote A Song of Ice and Fire, and Sam just came up with the title — it was such a delicious twist in the tale. We nearly gave the predictors what they wanted. It must have been so frustrating, but also thrilling, for people who predicted it. It was really clever, to pull the rug out from under those feet, nearly giving them exactly what they wanted, but taking it away at the last minute … it was an evil but delicious thing to do.

He also spoke about the small council scene we last see Sam in:

“Filming that scene was a really beautiful experience. There was such a sense of character around that table. A lot of the criticisms that have been aimed at this season is we relied on spectacle and a huge CGI budget, that it’s very cinematic but an element of characterization is gone. But I think certain parts of this episode, and especially this scene, give the lie to that attitude. What you have around this table are five very strong characters. What you’re watching when you watch this scene are these extreme personality types butting heads and trying to find a way to coexist and get on as well as they possibly can for the greater good.”

Well, what did you think about Sam’s and the show’s ending? Talk to us in the comments, down below!

Humility is a virtue possessed by few. Even though Game of Thrones reached great heights, the show’s cast was always humble to their roots. They have won the admiration and respect of fans all over the world due to their down-to-earth nature. For example, Jason Momoa reached out to a young Aquaman fan battling cancer last year. Kristian Nairn (Hodor) talked to Digital Spy about the show’s success and praised his co-stars.

He said, “It didn’t happen overnight, and I think for us that was a good thing. I mean it was always immensely popular, I just think as the seasons went on it moved from a really amazing TV show into a kind of phenomenon. It sort of turned into that thing that everyone talks about, people say over the watercooler at work. “

“It’s crazy, because every TV show you watch these days, every single TV show or movie, they all reference Game of Thrones. It always blows me away. I watch a show I love and there’s a reference to Hodor, there’s a reference to Khaleesi. It’s become such a huge part of the public psyche. I don’t think we ever dreamed before season one was out that that would happen. It still happens!”

“It kind of grew, it really doubled per season. But we grew into it, which made it kind of easy. The cast was really down to Earth. I can say hand on heart we’re all really down to Earth. I think that’s a really nice thing. Just the whole Hollywood thing, we’re all kind of aware of that… Game of Thrones is so brutal and real. It’s important to keep it real.”

Have you ever met a Game of Thrones star in real? Tell us about your experience in the comments below!

Game of Thrones was an enchanting journey that lasted for nearly a decade. Some of the show’s cast was very young when the show began. They sort of grew up with the show, like Maisie Williams, Sophie Turner and Isaac Hempstead-Wright. Stardom can be a bit scary when you are young. Especially for someone as studious as Isaac Hempstead-Wright. He revealed about his nervousness in an interview with Digital Spy.

Isaac (Bran) said, “It was actually a little bit intimidating. I remember seeing the show go interstellar. Especially when you’re separate from it a bit [Bran was off-screen during season five], you really just see how huge it is when you’re not in the midst of the whole thing.”

“I really think season five was when it had its meteoric rise. So coming back into season six – and I hadn’t acted for a year; I’d been doing my GCSEs – coming back in was kind of like, ‘Argh! I’ve forgotten how to act!’”

He continued, “I think also there had been a lot of bonds forged in that season, and a lot of people had grown up. I’d kind of grown-up, but I had that key year of being 15, 16 away from it. So it was a weird one to come back to. But after a couple of days, it was business as usual.”

Did you ever find your job to be intimidating? Talk to us in the comments below!

Game of Thrones ended more than one and a half years ago. It was a beautiful journey for both the fans and the crew that lasted for a decade. The fantastical series still holds the record for the most number of Emmy Awards won. On the occasion of New Year, the cast of the show came together for an interview with Digital Spy. They shared their experience while shooting for the fantasy epic. Gwendoline Christie (Brienne) and Kristian Nairn (Hodor) talked about how they were cast for their roles.

Gwendoline recalled, “I immediately rang my agent and said, ‘I want to do this’. My agent said, ‘What are you talking about? I’d never ever put you up for this. She’s ugly, her nose is broken, her teeth are broken and you’ll need to use a sword’.”

Nairn remembered, “I was a first-time actor. I was glad I didn’t know anything about the show at the time. Because if I had I would’ve realised what a huge audition I was going for. I had no idea what Game of Thrones was. I had auditioned for a part in another movie called Hot Fuzz, and I didn’t get the part. It was the casting director Nina Gold who remembered me – she called me in for this audition. I didn’t know it at the time, but when you’re called for an audition, that’s really in your favour.”

What are your best memories from the show? Talk to us in the comments below!

 

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